US WNBA star lands in US after prisoner swap with Russia

By Zehra Nur Duz

ANKARA (AA) – American basketball star Brittney Griner landed in the US on Friday after she was released from a Russian prison, according to media reports.

“A plane carrying US WNBA star Brittney Griner arrived at San Antonio's Kelly Field, in Texas, early Friday,” CNN reported.

In a high-profile prisoner swap, Griner was freed on Friday in exchange for Viktor Bout, an infamous arms dealer, who was incarcerated in the US.

Bout, a Russian national, was arrested in Thailand in 2008 on charges of illegal arms deliveries, extradited to the US, and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Griner was arrested in February at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport on charges of illegal import of hashish oil into Russia and sentenced to nine years behind bars.